Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 836 835 Popsicle
The young man came and went in a hurry.

About half an hour later, two patients suffering from heatstroke were brought over, accompanied by Su Qingxiang.

Tang Zhitong didn't recognize the two people who suffered from heatstroke, but he remembered them.

One was a junior high school student who complained about being criticized by his teacher yesterday, and the other was a cadre from the ministry.

The two had one thing in common: they were both wearing dark-colored clothes, perhaps because neither of them expected the weather to suddenly get so hot.

However, this is understandable. Even if they knew it would be very sunny, they probably didn't have much of a choice, as there are only a few colors available for men's clothing these days.

Su Qingxiang settled the two patients under the newly built shed and then ran around carrying a bucket of well water for them, showing meticulous care.

That wasn't all; Su Qingxiang then went to the temporary canteen.

"Master Qu, I've discussed it with the other leaders, and to help everyone stay cool in the heat, we'll add a bowl of mung bean soup later. I'll call the logistics department later and have them send the mung beans over tomorrow." Su Qingxiang approached Qu Yi as soon as he arrived.

"Okay!" Qu Yi agreed. Making mung bean soup is not troublesome. It just requires boiling the water for a little longer. After it's cooked, the mung bean paste at the bottom of the pot is a delicacy. It's soft and fluffy. If you add some white sugar and chill it in the well, it will make children's mouths water.

"Xiao Tang, it's too hot. Lao Fang and I are thinking of buying some popsicles for everyone. No one from the Municipal Bureau's Finance Department is coming this time, so we can only ask you to go back and get some money from your department to go to the food factory and use the transport department's account." After explaining to Qu Yi, Su Qingxiang assigned Tang Zhitong a new task.

"Okay!" Tang Zhitong scratched his head. Since this was Fang Yuan's idea, he had to accept it.

If this was just Su Qingxiang's idea, Tang Zhitong figured he might be just flattering his boss. But with Fang Yuan involved, it was a different story. Based on Tang Zhitong's understanding of Fang Yuan, Fang Yuan was genuinely worried about someone else getting heatstroke.

"You can arrange your own time. Old Fang said that the night shift at the threshing ground can be put on hold for now," Su Qingxiang said with a smile when Tang Zhitong agreed.

"It shouldn't be a problem. The food factory isn't far from the farm. Including payment and pickup, it'll take about two hours round trip. We can go after lunch, which will allow the comrades to have popsicles during the hottest time of the day." Tang Zhitong considered the location of the food factory. Anlelin Road was right on the way from the escort office to the farm.

"Good! See how many can be packed in one box. It's not easy to make this trip, so let's try to make sure that everyone can have one piece, two pieces would be best." Su Qingxiang was very satisfied with Tang Zhitong's attitude. He had only mentioned a goal, but Tang Zhitong had already provided a feasible solution.

"No problem, my bicycle is sturdy. I can just use a couple more boxes." The bicycle Tang Zhitong is riding now is the one that Grandpa Wang used to ride. It's an imported manganese steel bicycle, and it can easily carry five or six hundred pounds. It's just that it's too bulky to carry properly, so he might have to use the iron frame that he used to carry mail when he was a mail carrier.

"Okay, then I'll trouble you." Su Qingxiang nodded in satisfaction.

"Serving our comrades is no trouble at all. However, Director Su, I heard that you need a certificate issued by the food factory to buy ice cream." The quantity of ice cream and the source of funds have been agreed upon, but it's not certain that we can buy it.

A few days ago, when Tang Zhitong treated Jingmin's friends to popsicles, she had the idea of ​​having her younger sisters sell popsicles during the summer vacation to experience life and use the ice to cool down the house.

Because of this, he later made a special inquiry and found out that popsicles are not something anyone can sell; there is an entry process involved.

The process is not complicated because the income from selling popsicles is not fixed, and it is easy to lose money if you can't sell them, so the threshold is not high.

"Is that so?" Su Qingxiang frowned upon hearing this, not expecting there to be such a hurdle. However, he quickly understood. Since the Qing Dynasty, operating an ice cellar required a license. At that time, the ice cellars supplied not only the Aisin Gioro family but also sold ice to the public, though the prices were exorbitant and far removed from ordinary people.

Tang Zhitong nodded silently.

This matter is easy to handle; all that's needed is to get a stamp from the escort office. However, the official seal is in Fang Yuan's drawer, and the keys to his office and desk are also in Fang Yuan's possession.

This matter is very sensitive because it involves the official seal. Tang Zhitong was confident that he wouldn't do anything reckless, but he couldn't say it out loud.

"You cook first, I'll go back and discuss it with Lao Fang." Su Qingxiang thought for a while but couldn't think of anyone he knew at the food factory, so he had to put the matter aside for the time being.

"Alright!" Tang Zhitong didn't urge him. Since no one from the Municipal Bureau of Finance came, the matter would still fall on his shoulders after the discussion.

Tang Zhitong understood that Fang Yuan and Su Qingxiang chose him simply because he was a finance person, making it convenient for them to access the funds for purchasing popsicles without having to advance the money.

After seeing Su Qingxiang off, Tang Zhitong first prepared some pickled vegetables for tomorrow.

Due to personal preference, Tang Zhitong disliked all radishes. He felt they were too good at releasing gas, and if he ate stewed radishes tonight, he probably wouldn't be able to sleep.

The men are a little better off; they sleep on the floor outside where it's more airy, so they can tolerate the smell. But the women live in dormitories, with about ten people sharing a room. If a chain reaction were to occur…

That scene was too beautiful for Tang Zhitong to even imagine.

Just to be on the safe side, Tang Zhitong pickled two kinds of small pickled vegetables: slices of red radish and strips of cucumber.

"Xiao Fu, when you deliver breakfast to everyone tomorrow morning, make sure the men eat pickled radishes and the women eat pickled cucumber strips; they're refreshing," Tang Zhitong emphasized loudly to the female comrades who were helping Qu Yi in the kitchen.

"Okay." Fu Caiyun was stunned by Tang Zhitong's loud voice and didn't react for a moment until some female comrades whispered to her and she realized what was going on.

Tang Zhitong spoke loudly to these women, suggesting that since they were well-informed, they should inform each other before going to bed tonight, so they wouldn't have trouble sleeping tomorrow night.

After soaking the pickled vegetables, Tang Zhitong glanced at his watch and began to stir-fry the vegetables.

It's around 7:30 PM now, and although the heat has dissipated by this time, making it a good time to work, due to power supply issues, after this time, both the wheat fields and threshing grounds are pitch black. Even the villagers' homes and temporary dormitories frequently experience power outages.

After a long day, it wouldn't be good to let everyone eat in the dark, so the production team and postal system workers would finish work a little after 6:30 to give everyone some time to wash up and then eat. Back at their temporary dormitory, Su Qingxiang brought good news: a municipal bureau leader who had been sent to the grassroots level knew someone at the food factory and had already contacted them that afternoon via the farm's phone. Tang Zhitong could simply bring the money to complete the formalities the next day.

"That's great! We'll definitely complete the task with high quality and quantity!" Tang Zhitong pledged to Su Qingxiang.

With this opportunity, Tang Zhitong's mind started to wander. Since he was going to go back anyway, why not take this opportunity to go home?
After serving the food to his comrades, Tang Zhitong scooped some of the soup into his own lunchbox, intending to make do with a bite of steamed bun and a sip of soup.

"Brother Yuan, I've already made the pickled vegetables for tomorrow morning. I'm thinking of going back tonight, borrowing a set of shelves from my workplace first thing tomorrow morning, taking care of the finance work, and then going to the food factory. I don't know how the procedures are there or how long it will take. I'd rather be early than late, so I can make lunch for everyone when I get back." Tang Zhitong came to Fang Yuan's side with his lunchbox, listing several reasons.

"You're just going to eat this? Is there no other food?" Fang Yuan was somewhat surprised when she saw the soup and broth in Tang Zhitong's lunchbox, and did not immediately answer his question.

"The flavor is all in the soup, that's what makes it good. I love vegetable soup." Tang Zhitong smiled, as if afraid Fang Yuan wouldn't believe her, dipped the steamed bun into the soup, and then took a big bite.

"They say even a three-year drought won't starve a cook. You're lucky you're not a cook, otherwise you'd be the first one to go hungry. Here, have mine." Fang Yuan handed over his lunchbox, intending to switch with Tang Zhitong as he spoke.

"Hey, I'm just chopping and cooking here, it's not as hard as you guys working. I'll be happy with this, and there are plenty of steamed buns." Tang Zhitong pulled his lunchbox into his arms, turned halfway around, and refused Fang Yuan's offer.

"You...sigh!" Fang Yuan sighed, but didn't press the matter. Instead, he answered Tang Zhitong's question from earlier: "You don't have to be in such a hurry to get your wife. It's late at night, there's no moon, and it's not safe to walk on the dark streets. If you want to go home, cook the dishes early tomorrow afternoon before you leave. It's hot now, the vegetables won't get cold or spoil in an hour or two. As for the shelf, we can just borrow one from the food factory for now."

"Hehe, I was just thinking of getting everything done in one trip. I can go back tomorrow if I want." Tang Zhitong didn't expect his image to collapse even faster than a certain beverage company. Fang Yuan saw through his little scheme. Tang Zhitong was a little embarrassed, but he still made a small excuse. After all, he didn't have any illegitimate children outside. He just wanted to go back and create a successor legitimately. He had a clear conscience.

"There's no electricity tonight, so eat early and go to bed. We have a ton of things to do tomorrow." Fang Yuan had been through the same stage as Tang Zhitong, so he didn't dwell on the topic. Instead, he pointed to the unlit light bulb and said...

"I'm going to work a shift at the threshing ground tonight. I'll bring the equipment over; we can't just leave it in the warehouse like this," Tang Zhitong said while munching on a steamed bun.

"That'll save you some time; you won't have to come all night." It's good to show enthusiasm, but Fang Yuan was worried about his younger brother's health, so he still offered some advice.

"Alright, Section Chief Zhang didn't assign me the night shift in the first place." Tang Zhitong smiled, knowing that he should still give Zhang Jinbo credit when it was time to do so in front of the leaders.

The threshing ground was quiet at night. The wheat had been bagged and stacked up, and the straw had been piled up by the commune members.

The middle of the threshing floor was full of un-threshed straw with ears of wheat still attached.

There are several guards on duty, some at fixed points, and others patrolling around.

Since it wasn't open to the public, this kind of shift was very boring. Tang Zhitong walked around the wheat field several times, even turning on the warning lights. There were no commune members in this area, only his group of escorts.

"Brother Zhang, are we the ones guarding the transport day and night? Has no one come from the production team?" After confirming that it was safe, Tang Zhitong noticed a red dot in the darkness that flickered with the rhythm of breathing. After confirming that it was Zhang Jinbo, he went over to him.

"You have good eyesight; you can recognize me from this distance." Zhang Jinbo recognized Tang Zhitong's voice and said with a smile.

"Hey, not bad, I can barely make out the outline. The cigarette butt is a bit shiny, and the posture looks like Brother Zhang." Tang Zhitong laughed along. If you just look normally, it's already pretty good to be able to distinguish a person within three meters. Tonight, he relied more on his cheat code.

"We have side dishes to eat, but we can only see the outline of things. Most of the commune members are blindfolded and can't see clearly at night."

Before we arrived, militiamen were on guard at the wheat field during the day, but they only sent people over at night when there was a moon, because the militiamen couldn't see clearly after dark.

After Zhang Jinbo finished speaking, he took a deep drag of his cigarette, placed the cigarette butt on his foot, and rubbed it vigorously with his toes about ten times to make sure there were no more sparks before moving his foot away.

"Sigh..." Tang Zhitong knew that "night blindness" was a common term for night blindness. He sighed, said nothing, but took out a cigarette from his pocket and gave Zhang Jinbo one.

They had agreed that it would only be a few hours' work, but when Tang Zhitong said he wanted to go back, Zhang Jinbo wouldn't let him: "You can just lie down on any haystack and sleep. It's quiet here, no one snores or grinds their teeth. You can just sleep here."

Tang Zhitong thought about it and realized it made sense. When he was a child, his parents would work under the electric lights when they were working in the fields. Many of his friends couldn't stay up all night, so they slept like that.

In the village, straw is what farmers use to make mattresses, and Tang Zhitong relived those childhood memories that night.

Wednesday, May 25th, the temperature remained the same.

As the production team's work bell rang, Tang Zhitong woke up and stretched, having slept soundly the night before.

The labor projects were the same as yesterday. After finishing lunch, Tang Zhitong rode his bicycle back to the escort office.

Although there was still a lot of money lying in the space, enough to cover the cost of buying popsicles, Tang Zhitong didn't do that.

There are many employees working in the escort department, so the matter of buying popsicles can't be kept secret. If someone comes back to check the accounts and finds that Tang Zhitong hasn't returned at all, then it will be difficult to cover up the truth. After all, the conditions at the farm are limited, and not many people would bring a lot of money to the countryside.

After leaving the escort office, Tang Zhitong arrived at the food factory under the scorching sun. Someone had already given her a heads-up, making things much easier, and she got the green light all the way.

"Young man, please apply for this certificate in your own name. Applying it in your company's name will have a bad reputation if word gets out." When applying for the certificate, the key person from the food factory made a "small request".

"Okay, thank you for your trouble." Tang Zhitong thought about it and realized it made sense, so he nodded in agreement.

(End of this chapter)